Okay, this is a fic resurrected from two years ago. It was originally just a short (you can find a copy of the first chapter in Gumnut's Thunderbirds Ficlet Collection), but I thought I would add to it because I had multiple responses wanting exactly that, but most of all for janetm74 who has been an amazing support to both me and a good chunk of Thunderfam ::hugs her lots:: And also for the-original-sineater who has been a great cheerleader on Ao3 for a long time and also prompted me to write more for this. Thank you both so much.

Originally started as part of a whump war on Tumblr.
Weapons chosen : Scott Tracy
Theatre of war: Dark spooky castle
Target: samantha-tvandmovies

Warnings: minor Virgil/Kayo and Gordon/Penelope, but you could miss it easily. Approx. 1300 words. I woke up with this scene in my head and couldn't resist :D

-o-o-o-

It was a goddamned castle.

John had said it was, but to see it in the fragmented light of the crescent moon…it was straight out of a halloween tale and no less corny.

Kay called a wordless halt, her fingers dancing IR hand signals in ways he had never seen it used before.

He dropped to the ground.

She didn't want him here. He knew it in his soul, but in the absence of Scott, Virgil was in charge and there was no way in hell he was not going to be here.

Cloud drifted across the sky, teasing darkness.

His heads-up display outlined all the necessary detail. The fact it was generated by a pair of glasses rather than his helmet was odd, but he was slowly getting used to it. The black of his uniform and the shadow of his lover moving through the grass would take a little more time.

That and the sight of his aquanaut brother dressed equally in head to toe black, blonde hair hidden as much as that of Penny's beside him…

This was a side of International Rescue he did not get to see. There was something wrong, something forbidden, and something that went against everything he believed in. But it was necessary. It was Kay and Penny's world and they had no hesitation leveraging his little brother's historical skillset either.

Virgil's skillset lay in a completely different realm.

And this felt wrong.

Kay signalled them forward. They had landed silently and hidden by stealth technology not far away. Shadow earning her name as FAB1, equally hidden, alighted beside her.

Virgil was somewhat fascinated to see Gordon and Penelope working as a team. He was aware of Gordon's WASP history, though he highly suspected his brother had left out a few details from the family at large. Scott knew everything, Virgil had no doubt, but not the rest of them. In this situation there was something cold in Gordon's eyes. Virgil hated this as much as anyone, but Gordon's fury had an edge and Virgil found himself just that little bit afraid of what his brother might do.

They ran across open grassland, their shadows merging with the stumps of dead trees. It had obviously once been a garden, but it had been razed, nature taking it back with the exception of the occasional hack with a lawnmower. The ground under his feet was uneven at times and in the dark it was a challenge to keep his footing.

And he wasn't as quiet as Kay wanted him to be.

He couldn't help it. This wasn't his realm. She had argued with him. Even told him outright he would compromise the mission. But it was with him or not at all.

She hadn't spoken to him for several hours after that. It had hurt. It wasn't a case of him not trusting her, it was…well, he had to be here.

He had to be.

They made it to a side door, surprisingly undetected. The words Kay's fingers were using weren't happy at the prospect and she suspected a trap.

But that had been on the cards anyway.

Gordon had been the one to invent the swearing vocabulary of their hand signals and he took this opportunity to elaborate.

Virgil bit his lip.

And clung to the gun in his hand.

He missed his exo-suit. He was used to relying on it, knowing it was in his toolkit. He missed his 'bird. He missed his other brothers, but there was no way in hell he was allowing Alan on this and John was safe on Five performing overwatch duties as always.

His lip gave way under the pressure of his teeth and he tasted blood.

It was Penelope who got them into the building, but it was Kay who separated them. Penny and Gordon to the upper levels, Virgil and Kay to the horribly stereotyped concept of the dungeons. They slunk into poorly lit hallways, old LEDs strung haphazardly like Christmas lights, the only source of illumination.

He followed her silent steps, trying ever so hard to emulate them.

He was in charge, but he wasn't. This was Kay's world and he had temporarily stepped foot in it, and he feared he wasn't up to the challenge.

But he had to be.

Her hand signalled a halt and they merged into the shadow.

A single man walked past. An everyday Joe, jeans, red t-shirt, hands in pockets. He was an anachronism up against the worn stone wall. He kept walking, disappearing around the corner, none-the-wiser to their presence.

Kay lowered her gun, just a little.

Her eyes were hidden by her glasses, but he could guess her expression.

He swallowed.

And they were moving again.

Corridor after corridor, John whispering in their ears. Room after room and they still couldn't find what they were looking for. Virgil's hackles were more than standing on end as the odd person walked past looking nothing like an evil henchman or halloween participant.

Just the castle. Just the rock walls.

Just his patience wearing thin.

Perhaps that was the methodology employed, because eventually one of those average Joes pulled a gun and spun on Virgil.

He didn't yelp, he would be proud of that later, but then he didn't have a chance to do anything else as Kay shot the guy, the stun pellet taking him down fast and silently.

Virgil stared as she dragged the unconscious man into the shadows and searched him.

"We have to hurry." The words were the first she had said since they landed and they startled him. But the communication device she palmed from the body, was enough to drill the point home.

So they moved. Stealth was sacrificed for speed. Several more men fell before Kay's gun. Virgil hurried to follow. John was muttering in his ear, angry he had yet to locate their objective. It kept moving apparently. It wasn't until something hissed in some Slavic language danced across comms and Eos chimed in with a triumphant word, that his brother finally was able to give them coordinates.

His brother spat them.

The last time he had heard John use that tone of voice, several companies had suddenly found themselves bankrupt.

You don't mess with John.

You don't mess with Kay.

As three more men, these guys more appropriately attired, found out. Unfortunately, an alarm was triggered and it blared off into the distance.

Gordon and Penelope checked in. They were on target and ready to deploy at their word. Kay swore between her teeth.

But then they were where they needed to be, two guards down for the count, and Virgil's skillset came into play.

The door was thick set, its lock solid steel, but it had no defence against the appropriate explosive, which Virgil deployed with expert ease.

He didn't wait for Kay when he burst in.

His heads-up display gave him all the detail. Far too much detail, so he yanked off the glasses.

His eldest brother lay in a discarded heap in one corner of the room. He wore little more than his torn undershirt and shorts. His bed was a piece of dirty hessian.

"Scott!" Virgil was beside him, his hands assessing, his eyes desperately seeking blue.

His prone brother groaned, his gaze bleary as he looked up. Bruises, a possibly broken cheekbone, gashed forehead hidden in grime. The body beneath Virgil's hands was trembling. "V-gil?"

"Oh, god, Scott." His hand grabbed his mediscanner and it immediately started screaming nasty numbers and broken bones.

"You c-cme?"

"We're here, Scott. We're here."

Tears appeared in his brother's eyes. "Thank g-d." The shoulders under his hands relaxed just a little, still shaking.

"Th-nk g-d."

-o-o-o-